


a cortado with a splash of ice

by agnea



Series: prompt fills [1]
Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:34:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25237027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agnea/pseuds/agnea
Summary: The day after Jet’s funeral Ruby wakes up at three am, stares at her ceiling for two hours, then gets up to go to her shift at the local coffeeshop. There, she meets her cousin Liam, who's got into a bit of trouble. She helps out.
Relationships: Liam Wilhelmina Jawbreaker & Ruby Rocks
Series: prompt fills [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828249
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	a cortado with a splash of ice

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for @/elsie-writes on tumblr or @londor on here's d20 prompt list where someone sends you some characters and you roll a d20 to see which plot you write. an anon sent me ruby & liam and i rolled 16 - bakery/coffee shop au. so heres 1.4k of liam and ruby are grieving wrapped up in a lot of convoluted backstory. enjoy!
> 
> [my twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/_agnea_)   
>  [my tumblr](https://www.ag-nea.tumblr.com/)

The day after Jet’s funeral Ruby wakes up at three am, stares at her ceiling for two hours, then gets up to go to her shift at the local coffeeshop.

She eats a single piece of toast, brushes her teeth for barely a minute and is wearing a bra that’s been lying on her floor a week, but at least she’s up and doing something, rather than spending her day morose watching Netflix and hiding from the realisation that for the first time in her life she’s all alone, her mom and dad and Theo already back in the capital for a meeting with Mayor Uvano. If she’s completely honest with herself (which she will not be so she doesn’t start bawling inside her helmet as she motorcycles to work) she would much rather be there with them, but she _has_ to catch up on work so she doesn’t miss rent for a third month and get kicked out of the apartment.

She absolutely _cannot_ get kicked out, because the apartment was her and Jet’s, no help from their parents, and if she loses it, it’s another thing of Jet’s that she will never get back and she’s not sure she could take the hit right now.

(Jet was just getting her feet into the underground wrestling community and about to start her law degree, to go into immigration laws. Ruby herself was doing acrobatic training on the weekends while double majoring in history and politics at the local university, just like Aunt Lazuli did. They were going to make names for themselves, outside of the family influence. Just the Rocks twins, athletes and public rights workers.

Of course, Ruby had dropped out and cancelled her classes. And Jet’s dreams had died in that car crash with her. _Such as the Bulb dictates_ , Ruby thinks blithely, hands tightening on the handles).

Ruby parks around the back by the bins, opens the back door and starts to set up. Whoever had the last shift the night before was a newcomer, from the mess, and she needs to clean up and set everything out before she can open up shop.

She gets to work.

An hour later she’s sitting blankly staring at a muffin in the shop display case after frantically scrubbing the entire store front to back. She’s panting hard, eyes trained on the blueberries arranged in a crown on the top of it.

“Jet loved these,” Ruby whispers, fingers resting lightly on the glass. A potent wave of nostalgia hits her so hard she buckles over, clutching at her head as she shakes in her seat.

Someone raps on the glass of the front door, loud in the quiet of the store. Ruby jumps.

“Hello?” She hears a male voice say, just a bit louder than a normal speaking voice. “Is everything okay? The doors say you open up at seven but I can come back in an hour or two if you need it!”

Ruby looks up at the clock. It’s seven thirteen.

“Sorry!” She says, jumping up and rushing to unlock the door. She doesn’t get a look of the guy’s face until she’s pulling the door open, but when she does it stops her in her tracks.

“...Liam?” Her cousin blinks at her, adjusting his beanie. The pom-pom jiggles with the movement.

“Oh, hi Ruby!” He says. “I didn’t know you worked here. I usually come in on mornings, but I haven’t seen you!”

“Oh, uh, yeah, I usually work the last shift, but with recent events I… need the money.”

They’ve moved back towards the counter, Ruby walking around to stand behind the cash register. Liam looks confused for a second, eyebrows scrunching up in thought, then the realisation passes over his face and he goes white.

“Oh! I… oh.”

“Yeah,” she says, wincing.

They stand staring at each other, twin expressions of awkwardness on their faces. Ruby plays with the edge of her apron, curling it between her fingers. She can hear Liam’s feet shuffling in the space. It’s quiet, for a bit.

“...what can I get you?” Ruby asks after a while, throwing him a bone. She looks up to find that Liam’s face has brightened in clear appreciation.

“Oh! Can I get a large cortado with, um, a splash of ice?” She raises an eyebrow at that, momentarily feeling sick to her stomach. Liam blushes a bit, shrugging his shoulders.

Well, it’s not the weirdest thing she’s ever heard. She turns around to start the coffee machine and begin steaming the milk.

“Anything else?” She calls out over her shoulder, pressing the expresso powder. He hums.

“Yeah, can I also get a peppermint tea for Pr---” He stops suddenly, voice warbling as it peters out. Ruby turns around to look at him. He’s pale white again, eyes seemingly unfocused. She makes a noise of concern to catch his attention.

“Liam? You okay?” She asks. He flickers back to life.

“Yeah! I’m,” he takes in a huge breath, “I’m okay. Just, um, forget about the peppermint tea. It doesn’t matter.”

“ _Okay,_ ” Ruby says, confused. He smiles at her, showing a bit too much of his teeth, the metal of his braces glinting in the store light. She smiles back hesitantly, then turns back to continue making the cortado. She hears noises while she makes it, little soft sounds that sound like sniffles, maybe. It _is_ allergy season, after all, so she ignores it as she continues. When she finishes, she sucks in a breath before reaching for the stored ice and pouring some into the cortado.

“Alright, here you go…!” She turns around to hand Liam his coffee.

He’s crying.

Crying loudly, too, large gulping wails in the middle of a coffee shop at seven thirty-seven in the morning on a Monday. Ruby, in her shock, drops the drink, splashing hot coffee and melting ice all over her trainers.

_“L-Liam?”_ She squeaks. He’s absolutely bawling, tears and snot running down his face. She grabs at the napkins, shoving a wad of them into his open palms. He stuffs them into his face, blowing his nose, the noise like a foghorn in pitch and volume.

“Preston!” He wails. Ruby darts her eyes towards the door and the busy street beyond it, then back to Liam. This isn’t something that’s going to be cleared up in a few minutes.

_Okay,_ she thinks, _I can do this._

First she leads Liam to the corner booth, shoving even more tissues at him. Then she goes and locks the door, flipping the sign over, even closing the shutters, which the person from last night had also forgotten to do. She goes back and grabs one of those stupid blueberry muffins for Liam, then goes and slips into the booth on the other side from Liam, who is still crying.

“Here.” She passes him the muffin. Liam stuffs it into his mouth, still crying. He doesn’t even take off the wrapper. He is eating paper. Ruby is concerned.

“Dude, are you like, okay?” She asks, reaching over to hold his hand. His fingers are calloused. She wonders if he still does archery.

“N… Nooooooooo…” He sobs. “Some asshole ran over my piiiiiiiiiiig and Lapiiiiiiiiiiiiin and I had to go home for a while to help my daaaaaaaaaaaaad and they sold my apartment while I was awaaaaaaaaaaay and I’ve been living with my frieeeeeeeend Priiiiiiiiiiimsy but i keep accidentally insulting her roommate Anabelle so I can’t staaaaaaaaaaay and I’ll have to go home to my asshole brotheeeeeeeeeeeers aaaaaaaaaaaand---” Liam dissolves into more sobs while Ruby slowly pets over his fingers.

“Wow, your landlord is an asshole,” she comments sympathetically, thinking about her own shitty landlord and his threats. Then she thinks about her two bedroom apartment, not fit for one solitary person, and has an idea.

“Hey, if you need a place to stay, a room at my place got freed up,” she says. She realises what she’s said and exchanges a few shocked looks with Liam over the wording.

Then, slowly, the stress leaves both their faces and Ruby finds herself holding hands and laughing with her cousin in her job, feeling more happy than she has in months.

Liam moves in the next day. For the first time in a while, Ruby doesn’t feel quite so alone.


End file.
